


when tomorrow comes

by bluesandbirds



Series: do you hear the people sing? [5]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dream Smp, Gen, Let's go with that, Technoblade and Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, The Festival, idk what else to tag, l'manburg, you think i would have figured it out five works in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27090553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluesandbirds/pseuds/bluesandbirds
Summary: Tommy would say that the dust is settling except, fortunately, there's no dust to settle.Schlatt has been foiled by the power of friendship. Qilbur has been foiled by the power of love.L'Manburg asks a silent question.What comes next?in which loose ends are tied up.
Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: do you hear the people sing? [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971895
Comments: 47
Kudos: 345





	when tomorrow comes

**Author's Note:**

> not me changing the title the day after i post it, formerly "a life about to start," i rly couldn't settle on a lyric

Tommy and Wilbur emerge from the dark space beneath the stage to a sky speckled with stars. It's a beautiful night, one Tommy can only appreciate now without the threat of doom and destruction hanging over his head.

The storage space opens out at the back of the stage, so Tommy tugs Wilbur towards the front where he can hear the voices of their friends.

"C'mon, we can't let Dream do all the explaining. He'll make me so much less epic in his version of events."

He pulls harder at Wilbur's hand, but the older man doesn't budge.

"Will?"

Wilbur looks far away. His mouth is twisted and his eyes are haunted. "How do I—how do I face them? My son. My... Niki. How do I look them in the eye after what I've done?"

Tommy frowns. "You stopped, though. You didn't do anything."

He shakes his head. "I laced Manburg— _L'_ Manburg—with TNT. I pushed everyone away. I made you feel like you had to kill yourself to make me see sense." A trembling hand runs through greasy hair. "God, Tommy, and it isn't even over." His eyes shut, agony painted clear across his features. "I hear them talking. I see that flag. And all my instincts scream to run over that hill and end it."

Tommy squeezes his hand tighter.

Wilbur squeezes back.

"One side of my brain is telling me _lies, betrayal, enemies_. And the other wants to throw myself at their feet and beg for forgiveness, for absolution."

Tommy mutters, "Abso—I'll look it up later." He clears his throat. "Wilbur, what stopped you just now?"

"You did, TommyInnit."

"Yeah, but what exactly about me?"

Wilbur blows out a breath. "Well, I told myself I could do it. That _sometimes in order to feel comfortable and safe, you have to be ready to give up the things that you're worried you might lose._ I was so sure that I had already lost everything."

He looks at Tommy.

"But then you were there and you were not something I was ready to give up."

He swallows.

"L'Manburg isn't dead. I don't want to be the one to kill it."

Tommy says firmly, "And you won't be. Whatever shit that voice in your head says, it's just shit." He grins, almost like he did before the exile, before the war. "No matter what happens, you've always got me and you've got a Tubbo. That's everything you could ever want."

Wilbur's smile back is small, but fond with his old warmth starting to seep back in. "Yeah, maybe it is."

Together, they round the corner.

Niki is the first to spot them.

"Will! Tommy!" she cries.

Cheers erupt as people start to notice the pair.

Tubbo launches himself at Tommy, who catches his friend with an _oof_.

"We're okay now?" the brown-haired boy asks.

Tommy buries his face in his shoulder, ignoring the strain on his neck. "Yeah, big man, we're okay."

They make their way to the rest of the group. Everyone looks a little roughed up, bruises, cuts, a broken nose, but not too bad for coming out the other end of a battle. 

Tommy spots an unexpected face at the back of the crowd.

" _Techno?"_

"Uh, hullo." The Blood God waves, seemingly forgetting the sword in his hand. 

Niki steps forward. "It's okay, Tommy," she says, arm out to mollify him. "He helped."

He eyes him warily. "Did he?"

Techno sighs. "Look, anarchy involves a lot more emotional confrontation than I was ready for. I got some people fighting. I knocked out two government officials. That's much more straightforward than moral dilemmas and potentially having to stab my little brother."

Tommy scowls, not forgetting the _sword-at-his-neck_ , _it's-nothing-personal_ , _betrayal, betrayal, betrayal_.

At his side, Tubbo says, "He's okay, Tommy. Really."

Tommy takes a breath. He thinks about Wilbur in the ravine a week ago. Wilbur just a few hours ago.

_"Everyone who's claiming to be on our side. They're lying to us!"_

About fear and distrust and what they do to a man.

His shoulders slump. "Fine. I believe you. Can't stay mad at _The Blade_ anyways. Who's gonna save my ass the next time I piss off someone with better armor than me?"

Techno doesn't quite smile, but the corners of his lips quirk up. "Exactly."

Tommy lets his gaze drop to the most pressing matter at hand.

The civilians, the insurgents, the _L'Manburgians_ stand over the fallen dictator.

As Techno mentioned, Schlatt is out cold and tied up with a lead. The man who permeates Tommy's nightmares with _EXILE, SENT TO DIE, CAN'T COME HOME_ is just a lump on the ground.

"Where are all the others?" he asks.

"We carried them over to the Camarvan for medical treatment," says Eret.

There's a pointed cough.

He laughs. "Okay, so Techno and later Dream carried them over while everyone else watched in awe."

Dream says, "George and Sapnap are gonna be salty for a while, but they'll get over it. And anyways now that Techno and I have teamed up against a common foe, we're on the path to best friendship." He nudges the other man.

Techno stares at him awkwardly. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

Tommy grins, sees matching expressions on his friends' faces. This is the light. The flame. This is what makes all the bleeding and fighting worth it.

As the laughter dies down, silence settles over the crowd.

Jack Manifold says what they're all thinking. "So, what now?" 

Wilbur sighs, drawing attention to himself. "I wanted to apologize for my actions as of late. I was reckless and crazy and I nearly made the worst mistake of my life."

He looks at the crowd of friends, family, countrymen. He sees faces he loves, faces he fought beside, faces he'd only ever known as the other side of the battlefield. There's Antfrost, and Purpled, and even Alyssa. People he didn't usually think twice about yet all of them here for L'Manburg.

"I nearly blew up L'Manburg tonight. Nearly took you all with it. I didn't even care. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

He shuts his eyes, waiting for their righteous anger, for rejection.

He feels a hand touch his own.

"Dad," comes a quiet voice.

His eyes crack open and Fundy is staring at him with a soft look. "We forgive you," he says.

(Can you imagine?)

Wilbur's mouth falls open. "What?"

"We forgive you," his son repeats.

He turns to the group. "Do you...?"

Everyone make noises of agreement.

Quackity steps forward. "Happens to the best of us," he says, clasping him on the shoulder. "I sided with an evil dictator just because he liked my ass."

Eret raises his hand. "I betrayed you and led you all to your doom."

"I burnt down the flag and rebuilt it so fucking ugly."

"I declared war on you, burnt down Tubbo's house, blew up a lot of your land, stabbed all of you at least once, and shot Tommy," Dream contributes helpfully.

Niki smiles gently. "Nobody is perfect," she says.

"You guys are fucking ridiculous," Wilbur says, half-laughing. There are tears in his eyes.

"The only person who really got hurt today is this asshole." Jack nudges Schlatt with his foot. "So, I'd say no harm, no foul."

Tommy catches Wilbur's eye. They smile.

At some point, they will have to deal with the aftermath of this battle, the implications it has in store for the future of L'Manburg, but for now, Tommy is tired and Tommy is a child and Tommy wants to mingle with his friends and just _be._

Techno and Wilbur slip away, heads bent together as they talk in hushed tones.

Tommy eyes them semi-suspiciously until he's pulled into conversation with Dream, Niki and Antfrost.

Big Q, Jack Manifold, Purpled, and Tubbo's laughter covers the entire area with joyful noise.

HBomb, Fundy, and Eret chatter happily amongst themselves.

Sam is somehow maintaining a conversation with Alyssa and Callahan who hasn't even opened his mouth.

It's nice.

Techno and Wilbur walk over from their corner, immediately commanding the attention of everyone else. Techno clears his throat.

"So, someone snitched to Philza about the almost terrorism and he's very much _not_ happy..."

("I wonder who would do such a thing," Nihachu says innocently.)

"...so Will and I are going back to answer to him." He pauses to let that sink in. "I think this is as good a time as any to end our storyline. Sure, I didn't get to blow anything up, but I did get to stab a few people and bully Tommy, so it wasn't too bad here."

Tommy frowns, not sure how to feel. "You're leaving," he says.

Wilbur rest a hand on his shoulder. "Not permanently. We're still whitelisted, it's just..." He looks up at the spaces where there used to be walls, eyes lingering on the obtrusive obsidian flag. "I think this place got to my head. Some time away would be good for me." His eyes are warm when they meet Tommy's. "I've heard potato farming is very therapeutic."

(Wilbur Soot's going home.)

The coordinates for Philza's Hardcore world are already saved in their communicators, so all Wilbur and Techno have to do before leaving is say goodbye.

Hugs are exchanged. Promises to call and message are sworn, and threats of bodily harm if said promises are not upheld are also made.

Tommy watches his brothers disappear through the portal, an uncertain feeling settling in his stomach. He's been taught many times, in many different ways, how to say goodbye. It doesn't make it any easier to see them leave.

He's shaken out of his thoughts by a tug on his sleeve. It's Eret. His old friend turned enemy turned... something else.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" the older man asks.

Tommy shrugs and lets Eret lead him over to a quiet spot behind the reconstructed Ninja Alley.

Eret glances around before speaking. "Tommy, people are going to be talking now. About L'Manburg and leadership and the future of the nation. Now that Schlatt's been re-banned and Wilbur's gone, they're going to be looking for a new president." He takes a breath before continuing in his serious tone, "And I'm going to tell you this now and tell you it as your friend." 

In a move that surprises the boy, Eret takes off his sunglasses to look him in the eye. 

"You don't want to be president."

He feels himself open his mouth to say something, maybe to protest, but Eret holds a hand up.

"People like Dream and Wilbur, they want you to think that you do because they can't conceive of wanting anything less. But life isn't all about power and ending up on top." He smiles wryly. "I learned that from a friend of mine."

Tommy considers the words. The weight of them.

"Tommy, you want a cabin, and a cow, and some music discs. You don't want to be president."

He thinks about policies and elections and White Houses. He thinks about dirt shacks and sticks and sunsets.

"They're asking me to lead," he says in lieu of anything else. "Even if you're right, what else can I do?"

Eret smiles. "You don't want to be president, but you know who does?"

Tommy groans. "Please don't say yourself, Eret, do not do that to me."

He laughs. "No, no, no."

"Okay, then who?"

"She ran in the first election."

A slow smile spreads across his face.

"Big E, I like the way you think."

Niki is a woman surrounded by men who are ambitious or surreptitious. But L'Manburg doesn't need a soldier or a spy, it needs a president.

She is sworn into office on the roof of the Camarvan, dawn's light on her shoulders, wind in her hair. There's no grandiose speeches or absurd endorsements. It's just Niki and her cabinet standing in front of a crowd of friends.

Vice President Quackity gets his second chance under a fair, honest leader.

Secretary Fundy gets the promotion his father didn't believe him ready for. 

As for Tommy?

TommyInnit builds a house in the suburbs of L'Manburg. It's homely in every sense of the word.

He lives a simple (but never boring) life, free of the burdens of titles and wars. No longer does L'Manburg rest on the backs of children, but instead serves as a haven for those forced to grow up too fast.

He and Tubbo cause mischief for all the occupants of the server. Jack Manifold and Purpled are more often than not their accomplices. They do parkour with HBomb and put on stage productions with Eret. They prank unsuspecting bystanders and run to Sam's base to escape retribution. On her free days, Niki leaves the pencil pushing to her right-hand men and bakes cakes with her boys. Dream watches from afar, mask hiding a smile he'll never admit to.

There is a reason TommyInnit is not president and never will be. It's because he doesn't need it.

**Author's Note:**

>  _"The sun rises over another beautiful day in our country. The sun rises on another chapter. The next page of the textbook that children will be reading until the end of time."_   
> 
> 
>   
> thus concludes the end of this series, i hope y'all enjoyed the ride and thank you for reading, it really means the world to me!  
> i love comments and pogchamps, so feel free to drop one down below


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